And cultural profiling of a Country
Abstract
This paper discusses the primary determinants of any culture. They can be narrowed down to :
Social structure
Religion
Education
Language
Economic and political philosophy
I will discuss each one of them in context of Japan.
For country profiling, I would like to select Japan. Japan has a population of 127 million which is the 10th highest in the world. Japan consists of nearly 6,852 islands (in an archipelago fashion) which are located in a volcanic zone on the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’. Japan is surrounded by or located on ocean trenches, volcanic arcs and tectonic plates that are shifting continuously. The ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ consists of active volcanoes (almost 75 percent of the world’s volcanic activity takes place here) as well as accounts for more than 90 percent of tectonic activity (earthquakes).
Japan’s mainly consists of big islands. The islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, make up for almost 97 percent of the country’s land area. Honshu island is the home to the capital city of Tokyo and many of Japan’s other larger cities.(globalsherpa).
In Japan, family is the basic unit around which the society is built. Thus the country has a group organisation as a base. This type of structure instills a sense of belonging for individuals from an early age but also burden them with the sense of responsibility that goes hand in hand with it. Japanese children learn group consciousness from a very young age. The form of character building that instills these values is called seishin shuyo (Countriesquest). In the recent times, however the empowerment of individuals have led to more autonomy in choosing certain aspects of life, like a career or a spouse. But the basic structure of the society still is family and connections through extended family.
As regards religion, more than 80-85% are either buddhists or Shinto (countryreports). As the ethnicity is pretty homogenous, the religion is so too. This aspect of the culture is important as it shapes the beliefs and acceptable behavioral norms of the society. Thus keeping in line with buddhist beliefs, the society stresses on the virtue of harmony. Being ‘Zen’, having control over baser instincts and control of one’s self is deeply stressed in the culture.
Next determinant of culture is education. In Japan, elementary and middle school are compulsory. After that most of the students go in for graduate and higher degrees. Education contributes to the culture, as people become more aware of the surroundings and get better opportunities in life. Good education has been a primary determinant of good economy that the Japanese have maintained.
Language is another determinant of culture. Most Japanese people speak Japanese (language) with mild variations only found in a few places. This is an important factor in uniting the population. The propagation of ideas and knowledge becomes easier when as many as 98.5% populace speak the same language. Another extension of this paradigm is social conformity. In Japan most of the people try to fit in rather than stand out. They wear the clothes that fit, pursue socially acceptable carriers and comply to other social norms with equal ease. Uniformity is the order.
Economic philosophy can make or break a country, can lead it to riches and can drag it to disdain. Japanese embarrassed development and market openness from 1860s and had an overall great three decades from 1960s to 1980s. Then as the market was open to the world, 1990s were termed ‘the lost decade’. Since then Japan has struggled to return to 7-8% growth range. In recent years, the chief reason for shrinking economic growth has been an ageing population. Despite the economic problems, 68 out of 500 Fortune 500 companies are based in Japan. The culture of openness, acceptance and quality have made Japan into one of the top four economies in the the world based on purchasing power parity. And the development has been a little uneven during the years with the gap width between the extremely rich and the poor. But in recent years, most of the Japanese populace identified themselves as middle class. The philosophy of harmony and sharing has thus bridged the gap significantly and the development is now more even.
Politically, Japan has been rather neutral after World War II. Japanese, in keeping with a Buddhist spirit have established only self-defense armies other than police. The main external defense of Japan is done by US troops. Thus even on a International Relations level, Japan adopts diplomacy than disruption. This is not a result of historically calm existence. Japan has seen its fair share of turmoil in the past, and after a lot of attempts, is now a fully functional constitutional monarchy. The actual structure is where people have the right to elect their representative to a parliament, but the monarch presides over important matters. This structure may have led Japan to be more homogenous and promoted a ‘fit-in’ culture, but it has also brought peace and prosperity. Japan today is the foremost in export of automotives and rice. Despite commanding a tiny area, the progress led by education has been immense.
Overall it can be said that countries are shaped by many factors. We cannot build all of them into a model and declare one to be better than the others. But these determinants help us explain, how each economy is different than the other, and what has made it so. The countries that are usually successful are the one’s that a=have accepted their cultural identity, and are actually proud of it. Ethnocentricity does not guarantee success, but it sure is good to feel proud of where we belong.
References
Japan - Country Profile, Key Facts and Original Articles. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://globalsherpa.org/japan/
Japan Facts and Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.countryreports.org/country/Japan.htm
People and Society, Social Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/japan/people_and_society/social_structure.htm
